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Expect to pay hundreds more in property taxes

GENEVA – Kane County taxpayers will need to fork over more money this summer when they begin paying this year's property tax bills.

Late last month, the Kane County Treasurer's Office began mailing out this year's bills to homeowners and owners of other property throughout the Tri-Cities and elsewhere in the county.

And, as in years past, the bills have again increased.

According to a release from Kane County Treasurer David Rickert, the average property tax bill increased by about 2.3 percent from last year, rising from $6,106 last year to $6,245 this year.

However, the actual bills will vary based on where a home or other property parcel is located.

Tax bills in the townships in and around the Tri-Cities increased by 6.2 percent to as much as 12.5 percent, resulting in real increases of $500 to as much as $1,100 for owners of $300,000 homes.

The primary drivers behind the increases continued to be local public school districts.

Last year, all local school districts again increased their property tax levies, which is the amount they request each year from the county.

School districts typically account for about two-thirds of a typical property tax bill.

However, the increase is made worse by the continued decrease in the assessed values of property throughout Kane County. That decreased in equalized assessed valuation, or EAV, in turn, causes the property tax amounts requested by local governments to be spread over less valuable property.

In short, it means property taxpayers must pay more to make sure local governments collect the same or slightly more than they did the year before.

According to information published by the Kane County Clerk's Office, tax rates in all local school districts increased by 5.2 percent to as much as 14.6 percent. That resulted in real dollar increases, owed to the local school districts alone, of $300 to as much as $800 for the owner of a $300,000 home.

The declining EAV also meant that tax bills increased even for local governments who opted not to increase their tax levies this year.

Kane County government, for instance, chose to freeze their levy this year yet again. However, the county government's tax rate increased by 8.7 percent, translating to an increase of about $35 for the owners of a $300,000 home.

And local city and village tax rates also increased, by 3.5 percent to 13.8 percent this year, meaning the owner of a $300,000 home should expect to pay $24 to $66 more in property taxes to their local city or village this summer.

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